. >> reporter: the president and house speaker john boehner each are drawing a line in the sand over letting the bush era tax cuts expire for americans making more than $250,000 a year. >> instead of raising tax rates on the american people, accepting the damage it will do to our economy, let's start to actually solve the problem. >> reporter: the speaker wants a tax overhaul that raises money by cutti't hammer out a deal by year's end, the nation goes over the so-called fiscal cliff. taxes go up for everyone. an average of almost $3,500 per househo household. republicans say they want the president to address the real problem. >> and the real problem is uncontrolled entitlement spending, and a government that has grown massively. >> reporter: democrats say republicans are going to have to compromise. just like the president and his party did after getting walloped in the 2010 elections. >> we cut $900 billion in spending that we didn't like, painful to us. >> reporter: in washington, a high stakes search for middle ground. the president and the speaker say they're both hoping for a